Popular menu choices have staggering amounts of calories. We break down what activities you'll need to do to burn off seven common meals.
by Lorie A. Parch
An interesting study from Texas Christian University came out not long ago: The researchers wanted to see what would happen if restaurant menus included not only the calorie counts for every dish and beverage, but also how many minutes of brisk walking someone would have to do to work off the calories in that food or drink. Would people be less likely to choose the really high-calorie, high-fat items?
The answer appears to be yes. Compared to the people who got a regular menu (no calorie counts for foods or exercise) and those who got a menu with only total calories for each item, the third group—people who got a menu with calories listed for each item as well as the corresponding calorie burn via walking—ordered less food and ate less food.
The study just included 300 people under the age of 30, but it does suggest that showing people not only calories-per-food but also how much time and work it would take to burn off a meal—especially a very unhealthy one—might encourage them to make a better choice. As states like New York, California, and others try to find ways to encourage their citizens to make more healthful choices, this could be a relatively easy way to steer more of us to make better decisions more often.
Since people notoriously underestimate how many calories they take in, we decided to gather up a sampling of delicious foods and share what they’d cost you at the gym if you did indulge. Try to guess how much time it would take you to burn each off before you read the bottom of the slide.
Double Double with Onion: 670 Calories
Nothing satisfies quite like a great burger, and In-N-Out has of course built a loyal following based on this principle. Its classic Double Double hamburger (so named because it includes two patties) clocks in at nearly 700 calories, 41 grams of fat (18 grams of which are saturated fat), and 1,440 grams of sodium. An order of fries will cost you another 395 calories.
Equivalent Gym Time: Over 1 hour of running (at a 5 mph pace; approximately 590 calories burned per hour)*
French Toast Slam: 780 calories
If breakfast is your favorite meal, chances are you’ve met and made friends with the Denny’s Grand Slam series before. The French Toast Slam is a classic, with two slices of French Toast, two eggs, two strips of bacon, and two sausage links. This day-starter will set you back 780 calories, 45 grams of fat (13 of those saturated), and 1,510 milligrams of sodium. With little fiber (3 grams), the breakfast won’t keep you feeling full for as long, but it does have a decent protein count (28 grams).
Equivalent Gym Time: 2 hours of hiking (approximately 370 calories burned per hour)*
Premium Grilled Chicken Ranch BLT Sandwich: 440 calories
This tasty sammie is part of McDonald’s’ healthier menu, with items that clock in at right around 400 calories. And the grilled version is a much better option than the breaded chicken sandwich, though the addition of Ranch dressing and bacon do undermine things somewhat. The sandwich isn’t high-calorie for a meal (that means you’d need to skip super-sizing fries or adding a Coke), but is does have quite a bit of sodium (1,210 mg).
Equivalent Gym Time: 1 hour of weightlifting*
Butterfinger Blizzard (Medium): 740 calories
Cream vanilla soft-serve Dairy Queen ice cream combined with bits of broken Butterfinger. Is there a better combination on the planet? But like all things delicious and decadent, this one comes at a price too—over 700 calories for a medium shake, which also brings along 26 grams of fat (and 80 percent of your daily recommended total for saturated fat), zero fiber (you’ll soon be feeling hungry again), and a whopping 86 grams of sugar. It’s worth noting that the first ingredient in the Butterfinger pieces is corn syrup—which is also used in the ice cream.
Equivalent Gym Time: Over 4 hours of stretching (180 calories burned per hour)*
Meat Lover’s Pizza (2 slices, 12” medium pan pizza): 640 calories
It seems like the philosophy behind many pizza chains these days is simply “more is more is more.” The pies just keep getting heaped with more toppings, like Pizza Hut’s Meat Lover’s pizza, which will tally up at over 600 calories for a mere two slices (and who can stop at just two?). You might when you find out that half the calories (320) are from fat and that the total fat count is 36 grams, with an impressive 1,640 milligrams of sodium for that pair of slices. There’s almost no fiber to speak of, but a good amount of protein—26 grams.
Equivalent Gym Time: 1.5 hours of playing basketball (440 calories burned per hour)*
California Cobb Salad (Full order, with Ranch dressing): 940 calories
You know by now that salad isn’t, de facto, healthy. It all depends on what you do with it. This California Pizza Kitchen dish is a perfect case in point: With a delightful mix—smoked bacon, avocado, chicken, tomatoes, chopped egg, basil, Gorgonzola cheese, and housemade dressing—there’s a lot to like about this salad, but that’s the problem: There’s just too much of it, which accounts for the super-high calorie count. But there’s plenty of fat as well (72 grams!) and nearly 1,700 milligrams of sodium. On the plus side, the salad has a good amount of protein (48 grams) and some fiber too (9 grams), both of which will help keep you feeling full for longer. You may just need to make this salad your one meal for the day.
Equivalent Gym Time: About 2 hours of aerobics (470 calories burned per hour)*
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